Post by Celestia on Feb 25, 2008 16:38:39 GMT -6
An Introduction to Forum Role-Playing
How to Avoid Creating A Mary-Sue
Most people love role-playing as original characters more than as canon characters. That’s great. I’m here to list a few simple tips to help make your character an original, not a mary-sue.
What is a Mary-Sue?
A Mary-Sue is basically a “perfect” or rip-off character. They are designed to be either all-powerful, all-knowing, or the perfect girlfriend/boyfriend for a canon character, or are a renamed canon.
Such as a short girl with an automail right arm and left leg with long braided hair and the ability to transmute without circles. That is an obvious rip-off of Edward. This is bad.
Tips of the Trade
Here are some tips for brand-new, unexperienced role-players:
Base your first original off of you, to an extent.
Throw in a few of your own quirks or past experiences. It helps you keep your character’s personality fluid, and if you base your entire personality off of your own, you can even ask yourself “What would I do in this situation?” if you ever get stuck in an RP. Don’t type out a profile of yourself, though. A balance of fact and fiction is important.
Don’t plan to meet a certain person!
Don’t expect your character to run into every single one of your favorite characters. They wouldn’t be able to do it. Plus, if you do, you end up tweaking your new character’s personality and history just so they can meet someone. That’s the first step on the road to a Mary-Sue.
Name your character believably!
This one isn’t so important, except for maybe first characters. I find it’s best to use real names and then change the spellings to make them seem more exotic. Make sure it’s something someone might actually name their kid.
The best source for names is probably a baby names book/website. Although, using voice actors from different series is a good idea, especially ones that are in the series only once or twice.
Don’t use character name’s from other series though!
Don’t base your character off of one from another series!
That is one of the biggest Mary-Sues of all. It’s alright to take pictures from other anime/manga series and edit them, however, just make sure everything doesn’t come from the same place. EX: It’s okay to use Ichigo’s (Bleach) hairstyle, but not the robes as well.
It’s better if everything is made up in your head, but it’s alright if some things overlap the anime community. There are so many different anime and mangas now-a-days that it’s hard to find a completely new idea, even if you come up with it before you find out about it. Personalities are a great example of this. Hero’s usually come in Naruto or Bleach style: they have super-long battles, always beat the bad guys, there are never any anti-heros, and they never die/ get brought back to life.
Don’t make your character straight-cut!
Not everything is black or white. There are infinite shades of grey around, and using that can lead to interesting plot-starts. This is greatly illustrated in FullMetal. There’s a theif who steals not for her own riches, but to let her town have one last glory moment before it sinks, and a Homunculus who told his secrets as he lay dying.
Not everyone will always do the right or wrong thing, and thinking they will is a mistake. Choices always have a consequence, and not everything will always turn out like you want it. That’s the best part about role-playing, in my opinion. Your character could end up with a new best friend instead of a rival.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Silly.
Don’t make their appearance outrageous, unless it’s in their personality. People don’t walk around in thousands of layers of clothing; most people would rather dress plainly, and some even try to wear clothes that bring as little attention to themselves as possible.
Also, haircolors should remain as natural as possible. Reds, blondes, blacks, and browns come in all shades and are fine, but when you get into the ‘bright green’ spectrum, it’s a little bit too far.
Historys should also explain any interesting points about the character’s dress, habits, fears, goals, dreams, and parents, but leaving a few holes can be good. Make sure it’s simple and is chronologically in order, or that the first things that happened to your character is the first thing in the history, and the most recent the last thing.
And most importantly:
HAVE FUN!
This is your character!
Although it may sound a bit contradictory, it stretches your creativity and imagination by limiting yourself to the believable. Just about anyone can create a character that completely shatters the bounds of the world, but it takes thought to create one that makes you stop and think, “I could imagine meeting that person on the street.”
These are guidelines and nothing more. These aren’t set in stone rules, they’re tips to help begining rpers. Most people don’t know the difference between a mary-sue and an original character, although there are tremedous differences.
How to Avoid Creating A Mary-Sue
Most people love role-playing as original characters more than as canon characters. That’s great. I’m here to list a few simple tips to help make your character an original, not a mary-sue.
What is a Mary-Sue?
A Mary-Sue is basically a “perfect” or rip-off character. They are designed to be either all-powerful, all-knowing, or the perfect girlfriend/boyfriend for a canon character, or are a renamed canon.
Such as a short girl with an automail right arm and left leg with long braided hair and the ability to transmute without circles. That is an obvious rip-off of Edward. This is bad.
Tips of the Trade
Here are some tips for brand-new, unexperienced role-players:
Base your first original off of you, to an extent.
Throw in a few of your own quirks or past experiences. It helps you keep your character’s personality fluid, and if you base your entire personality off of your own, you can even ask yourself “What would I do in this situation?” if you ever get stuck in an RP. Don’t type out a profile of yourself, though. A balance of fact and fiction is important.
Don’t plan to meet a certain person!
Don’t expect your character to run into every single one of your favorite characters. They wouldn’t be able to do it. Plus, if you do, you end up tweaking your new character’s personality and history just so they can meet someone. That’s the first step on the road to a Mary-Sue.
Name your character believably!
This one isn’t so important, except for maybe first characters. I find it’s best to use real names and then change the spellings to make them seem more exotic. Make sure it’s something someone might actually name their kid.
The best source for names is probably a baby names book/website. Although, using voice actors from different series is a good idea, especially ones that are in the series only once or twice.
Don’t use character name’s from other series though!
Don’t base your character off of one from another series!
That is one of the biggest Mary-Sues of all. It’s alright to take pictures from other anime/manga series and edit them, however, just make sure everything doesn’t come from the same place. EX: It’s okay to use Ichigo’s (Bleach) hairstyle, but not the robes as well.
It’s better if everything is made up in your head, but it’s alright if some things overlap the anime community. There are so many different anime and mangas now-a-days that it’s hard to find a completely new idea, even if you come up with it before you find out about it. Personalities are a great example of this. Hero’s usually come in Naruto or Bleach style: they have super-long battles, always beat the bad guys, there are never any anti-heros, and they never die/ get brought back to life.
Don’t make your character straight-cut!
Not everything is black or white. There are infinite shades of grey around, and using that can lead to interesting plot-starts. This is greatly illustrated in FullMetal. There’s a theif who steals not for her own riches, but to let her town have one last glory moment before it sinks, and a Homunculus who told his secrets as he lay dying.
Not everyone will always do the right or wrong thing, and thinking they will is a mistake. Choices always have a consequence, and not everything will always turn out like you want it. That’s the best part about role-playing, in my opinion. Your character could end up with a new best friend instead of a rival.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Silly.
Don’t make their appearance outrageous, unless it’s in their personality. People don’t walk around in thousands of layers of clothing; most people would rather dress plainly, and some even try to wear clothes that bring as little attention to themselves as possible.
Also, haircolors should remain as natural as possible. Reds, blondes, blacks, and browns come in all shades and are fine, but when you get into the ‘bright green’ spectrum, it’s a little bit too far.
Historys should also explain any interesting points about the character’s dress, habits, fears, goals, dreams, and parents, but leaving a few holes can be good. Make sure it’s simple and is chronologically in order, or that the first things that happened to your character is the first thing in the history, and the most recent the last thing.
And most importantly:
HAVE FUN!
This is your character!
Although it may sound a bit contradictory, it stretches your creativity and imagination by limiting yourself to the believable. Just about anyone can create a character that completely shatters the bounds of the world, but it takes thought to create one that makes you stop and think, “I could imagine meeting that person on the street.”
These are guidelines and nothing more. These aren’t set in stone rules, they’re tips to help begining rpers. Most people don’t know the difference between a mary-sue and an original character, although there are tremedous differences.